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2 /01 LOCAL CHURCH BUDGET The memoirs of Shantung Compound include Langdon Gilkey s account of sharing a prison camp with other foreigners in Japan s occupation of China during World War II. The food supply shrank until only 1200 calories a day were available to each prisoner: six slices of bread, boiled water, and a bowl of stew. Things changed drastically when the Red Cross brought a shipment of two hundred parcels. Each American received a fair amount of food, clothes, and even sweets. The American prisoners generously shared the excess with other prisoners. Soon conditions deteriorated even more when the provisions went low. Winter was around the corner and six months without receiving any provisions felt like an eternity. When a much-anticipated shipment arrived after Christmas on trained donkeys, the parcels were too numerous to count. The low morale of the camp soon went up. When the Japanese commandant cataloged the shipment, he realized that there was enough for each prisoner and then a half additional parcel for the Americans. On the following day, when the prisoners anticipated receiving their parcels, bad news was shared. No parcels would be distributed because a handful of American prisoners had complained that it was unfair to give all the prisoners the parcels rightfully sent to the American prisoners. 7 Greed affects everyone, rich or poor. Solomon declares, there is one who scatters, yet increases more; and there is one who withholds more than is right, but it leads to poverty (Prov. 11:24). May generosity fill the life of every believer as your local congregation s needs are met through your giving. 7 Phillips Yancey, Rumors of Another World: What on Earth Are We Missing? (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2003), 109.

3 /08 WORLD BUDGET By Jerry Lyn Rogge A portion of today s World Budget Offering goes toward NAD Christian Record. How often do you think about breathing? Perhaps now that it has been mentioned, you are more conscious of your intake and exhalation of air. You likely think about your breathing more when recovering from illness or during exercise. Vision is another aspect of life that is frequently taken for granted. In fact, most of us don t think about our eyesight until there s a problem text becomes fuzzy or driving at night is difficult. Christian Record Services for the Blind is an official ministry of the Seventh-day Adventist Church for people who are blind. Christian Record works behind the scenes to offer free publications in audio, braille, and large print. The organization also distributes Bibles and Bible study guides and sponsors summer and winter camps. Christian Record s clients do not take these services for granted. Melissa receives reading services and attends summer camp through National Camps for Blind Children. Christian Record is essential to giving blind people the opportunity to read great books, says Melissa. Today is the Christian Record Annual Day of Giving. As you give generously, consider the many ways you can help support Christian Record s ongoing outreach to people who cannot see. To learn more, visit

4 /15 LOCAL CHURCH BUDGET Easter and Christmas are two occasions when churches receive the most visitors, yet the culture has managed to secularize both celebrations. Easter, for instance, has become more about bunnies, eggs, and food than about Christ s sacrifice on Calvary. In the midst of it all, there is a Savior still willing to give His love, mercy, and grace (Eph. 2:4-7). One particular year, things were different for a Midwest congregation on Easter Sabbath. During its testimony time, a man stood up and unfolded a paper he took out of his pocket. He was just released from prison and needed to make public amends while praising God for His goodness. That testimony triggered a series of statements from church members who had struggled with addictions and now follow Jesus Christ. At the end of the service, a church member walked a gentleman to the front and said, He also has a story to tell. As it turns out, this man had driven by the church for the last 20 years; he knew the Seventh-day Adventist church had the true message. After his health worsened, he made a decision to return to God. He wasn t planning on staying for church; he just stopped by for a tithe envelope. Jerry decided to return to the church with his tithe later that morning. I have to honor God first, he said. Ellen White said, It would be well for us to spend a thoughtful hour each day in contemplation of the life of Christ. We should take it point by point and let the imagination grasp each scene, especially the closing ones. 8 May your tithe and liberal offerings today reflect your gratitude toward God who sent His beloved son to pay a ransom for many. 8 Ellen G. White, Desire of Ages (Mountain View, Ca: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1940) 83.

5 /22 INDIANA ADVANCE A young lady in a youth camp was puzzled over an abstract question. How can I tangibly love God? He is not visible. I cannot physically attend to His needs. How can I give God money? Those are valid questions. Even Jesus encouraged believers to bank in heaven where the moth and rust don t corrupt and thieves don t steal (Matt. 6:20), but how do we do it? A Canadian man wanted to purchase a book in New York many years ago. The money exchange rules prevented him from sending money to New York where his son lived. The Canadian man came up with an idea, which he communicated to his son. If you take some of your money and order that book to be sent to me, when you come to Canada this summer I ll have the money waiting for you. 9 In a similar way, God is asking believers to use their money on earth to do God s work. He, in return, will make a deposit in heaven. The bank in heaven is rustproof, burglarproof, failureproof, storm-proof, disaster-proof, and death-proof. But we must first open a bank account by accepting the blood of the lamb, repenting from our sins, and walking by faith so that our names can be written in the Lamb s Book of Life. 10 Tithe and freewill offerings are one example of how believers can love God. Your offerings today will give your local conference an opportunity to do God s work in your territory. Thus, others may have a chance to know God, repent from their sins, and begin a trusting relationship with Him. 9 Leslie Flynn, Your God and Your Gold (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1961), Ibid.

6 /29 NAD EVANGELISM The USS Benevolence was a ship built in It was later converted into a hospital and commissioned in May 12, The 11,141-ton ship had a capacity of 802 beds and a crew of 564 people. The USS Benevolence served in the Pacific providing medical services during campaigns against Japan in addition to receiving battle casualties. 11 On August 25, 1950, John Napoli was fishing 30 miles from the San Francisco s Golden Gate. He was returning home that foggy early afternoon after a three-thousand-dollar catch of salmon. Two miles from San Francisco Bay, he noticed movement in the water as if people were struggling to stay afloat. As Napoli slowed down and took a closer look, he saw the big white Red Cross vessel underneath the water. A collision with another freight sank it just 15 minutes from San Francisco. Napoli later wrote, My eyes were full of tears, and God said to me, Now you ve seen them, go to work. 12 This fisherman began fishing men, pulling them one by one out of the waters and into his small fishing boat. As the space quickly shrank, Napoli had to release all of his precious fish in order to save more lives. Isn t that also what the Lord has entrusted believers to do? Jesus said, Follow me and I will make you fishers of men (Matt. 4:19). May each believer give sacrificially so others around North America who don t know the Lord get an opportunity to make a decision for Jesus. 11 USS Benevolence (AH-13). AH-13 (accessed on April 1, 2016). 12 Kenneth Wood, Meditations for Moderns: Three-Minute Devotional Readings for Daily Inspiration (Washington, DC: Review and Herald, 1963) 59.